The Defence Ministry is looking harder for ways to use the EU's EDIP programme to re-arm the army, minister Dimitar Stoyanov told parliament on Friday during question time.

Stoyanov was answering a question from Atanas Slavov of Democratic Bulgaria. Slavov asked how Bulgaria takes part in the European Defence Industry Programme, how it uses the grants and in which areas.

Germany leads a joint bid to buy missiles for IRIS-T SLM air defence systems, and the ministry is among those filing it. Bulgaria also takes part in the Starwatch, Satellite, Decoder and Integrated Maritime Defense projects. Stoyanov said the other EDIP initiatives mostly fall under the Ministry of Economy and Industry.

The ministry has named three EDIP areas as priorities for the country's defence capacity: joint purchases, for which the programme provides €240m. European defence projects. And JAQ, the programme for common certification of ammunition.

"There is particular interest in JAQ in Bulgaria, because our defence industry needs to certify its production of 155mm shells," Stoyanov said. The army as a whole will switch to this calibre.

The EU budget for 2025-2027 sets aside €1.5bn for EDIP. More than €200m of that is for cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and EU countries, to strengthen industry.

EDIP also pays for the EU's Fund to Accelerate Defence Supply Chain Transformation. The fund has a total budget of €100m, and industry is the beneficiary.

Stoyanov said EDIP is a tool to carry out the EU's defence industry strategy and should make Europe more ready to defend itself in a fast-changing security climate. Slavov called it the EU's first long-term, structural programme to support real production, the growth of the defence industry and joint purchases of equipment.

The programme was approved at the end of 2025. Slavov said it has been in force since the end of December 2025 under an EU regulation.